Indian Shuttlers Exit Early at Malaysia Masters 2026
Early Exits for Indian Players at Malaysia Masters
Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], May 20: The campaigns of Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy at the Malaysia Masters 2026 came to an abrupt end on Wednesday at the Stadium Axiata Arena.
India's leading men's singles player, Lakshya, who reached the semifinals at the Paris Olympics 2024, faced a surprising defeat against Indonesia's Zaki Ubaidillah. The match concluded with scores of 21-17, 21-11, marking a straight-game loss for Lakshya, as reported by Olympics.com.
In the first game, both players were tied at 14 points, but Ubaidillah surged ahead, ultimately winning the match in just 43 minutes.
HS Prannoy, the 2023 Malaysia Masters champion, encountered Japan's ninth-ranked Kodai Naraoka in a grueling match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes. After dropping the first game, Prannoy managed to save a match point, pushing the contest to a deciding game. However, he faltered in the final moments, losing with scores of 17-21, 22-20, 22-24.
Tharun Mannepalli also faced disappointment, losing after initially leading against Wang Po-Wei from Chinese Taipei, with scores of 21-17, 14-21, 8-21. Kiran George had to retire during his match against seventh seed Alex Lanier of France, ranked tenth in the world, marking the end of the men's challenge for the Indian team in Malaysia.
On a brighter note, Malvika Bansod kept the Indian hopes alive in the women's singles by defeating German Olympian Yvonne Li with scores of 21-17, 16-21, 21-9 in a match that lasted an hour. Ashmita Chaliha, who qualified for the main draw, advanced to the second round after a convincing win over Indonesia's Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan, with scores of 21-16, 21-13.
Devika Sihag also progressed in the tournament, overcoming South Korea's Park Ga Eun in a thrilling match that ended 19-21, 21-18, 21-19. Anmol Kharb narrowly lost to Danish eighth seed Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt, with scores of 21-13, 16-21, 19-21. Tanya Hemnath was defeated by Huang Ching Ping from Chinese Taipei, with scores of 21-19, 21-7.
Tanvi Sharma continued the trend of losses for India, falling to Thailand's Pitchamon Opatniputh with scores of 21-10, 21-19. Isharani Baruah also lost a close match against Danish fifth seed Line Christophersen, with scores of 17-21, 21-14, 18-21.
In the women's doubles, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda faced a tough challenge, losing 21-7, 21-6 to the Japanese second seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, the world No. 7 pair, which concluded India's campaign in the doubles category.